Literature Review 1Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW OF SELF-REGULATED LEARNINGLiterature Review of Self-regulated LearningJennifer MaddrellOld Dominion UniversityIDT 860: Cognition and Instructional DesignApril 18, 2008

Literature Review 2Purpose of ReviewSelf-regulated learning (SRL) refers to the ability of a learner to understand and controlhis or her learning process and outcome (Schraw, Crippen & Harley, 2006). What follows is areview and analysis of the theoretical perspectives and research findings related to how socialfactors within the learning environment influence a learner’s likelihood and ability to self-regulate. The objective is to assess what (if any) social features influence a learner’s ability toself-regulate and how those features should be considered within the design of instruction toincrease a learner’s self-regulation.Social Cognitive Theories of Self-regulated LearningIn a recent extensive literature review of self-regulation conducted by Post, Boyer, andBrett (2006), four distinct periods of study on self-regulation emerged over the 1891 to 2006time period, including Precursory (1891-1950), Emergent (1950-1970), Contemporary (1970-1990), and Expansionist (1990 to present) periods. While a host of definitions and conceptions of learner self-regulation appear across the decades of study, Post et al. report that a great deal of the literature written within the current Expansionist period incorporates a decidedly socialcognitive perspective; one in which the social environment is assumed to influence the self-regulatory process.Many recent articles on SRL cite a definition by Pintrich (2000) which describes SRL as“an active, constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and then attempt tomonitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and behavior, guided and constrained by their goals and the contextual features in the environment" (p. 453). This description parallelswhat Zimmerman (2000) terms a “Triadic Definition of SRL” involving the interaction of 1) personal self-regulation involving the adjustment of cognitive and affective states, 2) behavioral

Literature Review 3self-regulation involving self-observing and strategically adjusting performance, and 3)environmental self-regulation involving the observation and adjustment of environmentalconditions. Zimmerman describes these interactions as occurring within a self-regulatory goalsetting, monitoring, and evaluation loop, as shown in Figure 1, including forethought of task, performance, and self-reflection. While variations on this social cognitive conception of SRLexist, most suggest an iterative process in which a self-regulated learner establishes a desiredlearning goal, monitors progress, and regulates cognitive, behavioral, and environmentalconditions to optimize learning (Boekaerts & Cascallar, 2006).

Figure 1.

Self-regulatory loop.Influence of Social and Environmental ContextSocial cognitive theories of self-regulation suggest interdependence between the socialcontext within the learning environment and an individual’s self-regulation (Yowell & Smylie,as cited in Meyer & Tuner, 2002). During the self-regulation process, the individual learner usessocial and other environmental conditions as resources to enhance forethought, performance, andself-reflection (Zimmerman, 2000).Jackson, Mackenzie, and Hobfoll (2000) extend this social cognitive view by suggestinga “self-in-social-setting” regulation which emphasizes the importance of “communal regulation”in which an individual regulates and monitors his or her cognition and actions within the norms